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Burning Road (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Ann Benson (Author) "When had Alejandro Canches last read the language on the papyrus before him..." (more)
Key Phrases: tiny beasts, Guillaume Karle, Big Dattie, Charles of Navarre (more...)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Readers of Ann Benson's bestselling The Plague Tales will bond immediately with this sequel and its unusual blend of historical romance and futuristic medical thriller. The book begins in 14th-century France--a country ravished by a war with the English, and also suffering from the deadly effects of the plague. A Spanish-Jewish physician named Alejandro Canches searches for a cure; he scribes a medical manuscript along the way.

The Burning Road then moves to a town in Massachusetts in the year 2007, where another Doctor, Janie Crowe is fighting her own battle to cure sickness and disease. She looks to Canches's manuscript, his "Book of Cures," for clues.

Benson skillfully shows us the small details of everyday life and the events that both connect and separate these two doctors as they struggle with medical and personal problems. Canches seems to have isolated the cause of the bubonic plague, but his work is interrupted by battles with French troops and by worries about the safety of his foster daughter Kate (who is the illegitimate daughter of England's King Edward III). Meanwhile, Dr. Crowe is on the verge of a major breakthrough with a terrible genetic disease that afflicts Jewish boys.

The alchemy and magic may not be for every taste, but by linking her two physicians through 600 years of what passes for progress, Benson gives her strange hybrid a uniquely gripping aura. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Boldly conceived as two parallel fictional journeys separated by 650 years and linked by an ancient, mysterious manuscript promising miraculous cures, Benson's sequel to The Plague Tales aims to please historical romance readers as well as futuristic thrill-seekers, but suffers from this risky hybridization. The love story set in the 14th century fares best. While crypto-Jewish physician Alejandro Canches becomes involved in a peasants' revolt in France during the savage Hundred Years' War, his foster daughter Kate, illegitimate child of England's Edward III, falls in love with rebel leader Guillaume Karle. In Benson's less successful alternative tale, a medico-techno-thriller, Janie Crowe is a brilliant neurologist discredited in the aftermath of DR SAM, the incurable staph infection that recently ravaged the world and now, in 2007, is recurring. Crowe seeks a genetic cure for an eerie disease afflicting Jewish boys while juggling romance with two hunky-but-sensitive suitors. Linked to Alejandro by his book of cures, which has recently come into her hands, 40-ish Janie "smirks" and "snickers" at the wisdom found there; her disdain renders the uneasily intertwined plots of mystic healing and medical science implausible. Benson's medieval tale and its colorful characters, like a boyish Geoffrey Chaucer, are far more intriguingly drawn than her watered-down 21st-century cynics. But even the narrative set in ancient times flourishes its own unpersuasive details, such as an impossibly glorified earth-mother pregnancy and inconsistent dialogue. Perhaps these two stories would have been more successful as separate vehicles. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 706 pages
  • Publisher: Dell (July 11, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0440225914
  • ISBN-13: 978-0440225911
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #479,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Sequel, February 28, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Burning Road (Hardcover)
Having read The Plague Tales several times, considering it one of the most intriguing books I've read, I couldn't wait for the sequel. I was very disappointed in the results. While the storyline was still intriguing, the plot was confusing. There were details regarding some of the characters that I didn't understand. I found myself rereading passages to see what those were and still couldn't find reference to them. If there is a third book, it would be much more interesting to use just Alejandro's storyline. I think the "future" storyline has just about fizzled out, which was evident about halfway through the book. My recommendation if you must read this book is go to the library and borrow it. Don't waste your money.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Sequel!! When Do We Get Another Installment?!?, February 2, 2002
By North Carolina Reader (Burlington, NC United States) - See all my reviews
What a sequel! I stumbled onto "The Plague Tales" by accident and was immediately hooked by all of the characters, especially Alejandro, who is one of the most genuinely human characters I've encountered in a fictional novel. Throughout "The Plague Tales" he struggles with the conflict between his passion for learning, devotion to medicine and his moral values. I also enjoyed the "future" characters, Dr. Janie Crowe and her assistant/friend Caroline. The only complaint I had was wanting to know more about the future characters, and I got my wish in "Burning Road." In this sequel, we learn about the cause of "The Outbreaks" in the future and follow Janie as she trys to track the cause of a mysterious illness affecting a certain group of young boys, while dealing with her true feelings for her lover Bruce and her attorney/friend Tom. Alejandro is back, with yet more dilemas to work through, and the character Kate, his "adopted" daughter takes on rich, deep dimensions. In both the past and future storylines, we meet new and exciting characters, revisit old characters in greater detail, and of course, encounter new enemies and dangerous situations. In "Burning Road" the novel seems to spend more equal amounts of time between the past and the future. As with "The Plague Tales", Ms. Benson weaves past and present together in an incredibly artful and satisfying manner. This is simply a great novel, but I definitely suggest that for maximum enjoyment, one should read "The Plague Tales" first. Also, be sure to have a copy of "Burning Road" ready, because you won't want to wait to spend more time with these characters! I'd love to read another installment to this story!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Burning Road: a Burning Read!, July 17, 2000
While I enjoyed the Plague Tales immensely, I found both the writing and general narrative flow to be a bit smoother in the Burning Road, and the transitions between the two time periods seemed easier to handle. Ms. Benson gives us a convincing portrayal of a time just a few years into the future, similar enough to our own time to be convincing but also new and frightening. There were a few places when I found myself thinking skeptically, "there's no way we'll have that kind of technology in seven years," but I was willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a fascinating story. My one big disappointment in the 14th century story was that with the introduction of Kate as a more important character, we necessarily saw less of Alejandro who, as in the Plague Tales, seems much the most compelling character in the novel. I can certainly understand Janie Crowe's obsession with him. One little caveat: there is a reference to the introduction of printed books almost 100 years before printing actually got started and Ms. Benson has Alejandro using the word incunabula about three hundred years before the first recorded usage. This may seem like a small thing, but it does make you wonder what other historical inaccuracies might have crept in. Still, overall it was a compelling read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars I hate it when they do this. It's a serial! And they don't tell you.
Will Janine have a normal baby? What is Katrina's secret? Will Bruce demand entrance into the compound? And what of Alehandro? Will he raise Kate's son in the Jewish Faith? Read more
Published 22 months ago by Bruce Burns

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful sequel - high adventure, very believable plot
This is a sequel to Ann Benson's The Plague Tales. It tells the story of a 14th century physician during the time immediately after the plague, as well as the story of a woman in... Read more
Published on November 27, 2006 by Ms. Honest Opinion

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't get enough Alejandro...
LOVED the book, though the end was a bit confusing. From the other reviews it looks like I'm not the only one who felt that way. Read more
Published on June 29, 2006 by E. Liverance

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but...
Really just agreeing with others that (1) it would be difficult to read this book without having read the Plague Tales (although that could easily have been fixed, because most of... Read more
Published on March 16, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible and all too possible tale.
I find it slightly humorous that within a short period of time, say a month, I read The Killers Within which is about the rise of bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics,... Read more
Published on December 21, 2002 by K. L Sadler

2.0 out of 5 stars Not everyone has read The Plague Tales...
I got the feeling from this book that someone (Ms Benson's editor?) thought the book was too long, and removed parts that didn't directly affect the storyline. Read more
Published on November 14, 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars a page-turner on its own
I just had to respond to another reviewer's warning that this book is a sequel that does not stand on its own. Read more
Published on August 1, 2002 by gradstudent-flatbroke

3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling but it doesn't stand on its own
A word of warning to anyone who might pick up this book - this is a sequel, a fact not acknowledged on the cover, or for that matter anywhere at all on the book. Read more
Published on June 28, 2002 by J. Hilles

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting, thought-provoking well-written book !!!
The Burning Road by Anne Benson is an extremely interesting and exciting novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel after having read its predecessor. Read more
Published on October 11, 2001 by Paul Chastant

4.0 out of 5 stars Leaves me wanting more!
I read The Plague Tales because of its medieval theme. While I enjoyed that book I mainly bought The Burning Road due to a feeling of wanting to at least finish the series as it... Read more
Published on May 12, 2001

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